Bookmarks are a staple of browsing the web, but they haven’t changed all that much in over a decade. Using them requires a system of organization and a commitment to keep things from growing cluttered. To complicate matters further, some items don’t fit neatly in a particular folder, and others are things you simply want to remember to read later. For that last group, fortunately things have greatly improved over the past few years. There are several services available that will not only store pages, they will reduce them down to just text for easy reading. Here are four ways to do so using an Android device.
1. Pocket
Pocket, formerly known as Read It Later, stores web links in a single place. Items are displayed as large thumbnails by default, though users can switch to a list view as well. The app opens pages up as articles, stripping out ads but leaving in photos and other images. For the pages that don’t open properly, there’s the ability to switch back to a web view without leaving Pocket. Of the apps on this page, this one provides the most colorful UI. You can also access items saved to Pocket on your computer, making it a very useful solution for people who hop around between devices regularly. That last feature is a benefit that both of the next two services also deliver.
2. Instapaper
Instapaper differs from Pocket and Readability in that it costs money to use. Not only does the app come with an upfront fee of $2.99, it requires a monthly subscription. That aside, the app contains many of the same features mentioned above. It actually looks like a cross between Pocket and Readability, offering a UI that’s crisp and flat like Pocket but text-centric like Readability. Users can like, archive, or delete stories that they’ve sent to the service.
One feature worth highlighting is the ability to highlight text and save just these snippets for later reading. This can be especially useful for those times when you don’t want to read an entire article or just want to return back to where you left off (though I should mention that all of these apps remember your location as you switch around between saved stories). The app also offers a few more background colors and text options than some of the others on this list.
3. PaperSpan
PaperSpan is its own service and not an application used to save information on another web-app. What sets PaperSpan apart from most of the other applications is the option to create an offline version of the URL. For people on a limited data plan or WiFi only devices, you can see the benefit of this feature.
4. Firefox for Android
Firefox for Android is the oddball item on this list. It’s not a service that syncs to an app on your Android device. Instead, the mobile version of this web browser offers the ability to save any page for later reading. It addition, it strips these stories of the ads and images, allowing for distraction-free reading. If Firefox is your browser of choice, this may just be the practical solution you need that, unlike the others, doesn’t require you to create an account somewhere.
5. Power Note
Power Note is the official Diigo application for Android. While Diigo is primarily a bookmarking site, part of what Diigo offers is a read later option when you are saving a URL. In the Android app, you have a whole dedicated column for these URLs.
Another cool feature Power Note gives you is the option to upload other notes. You can store images, snapshots, text notes and use your voice to compose text notes. Diigo seems like they are trying to steal some of Evernote’s thunder with these additions in their mobile app if you ask me.
Final Thoughts
The landscape in this area is changing rapidly. Not only that, the field doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Google is making changes to Chrome’s bookmarking system, which could provide just the shot in the arm the feature needs.
If you have any favorite apps or methods for saving things to read later on an Android device, feel free to share them with us below!
Bertel is a tech blogger and independent novelist who puts perhaps a tad too much trust in Google. He’s loved Android since the moment he got his eager hands on his first device — if not sooner — and has understood the Chromebook Pixel from day one.You can follow his work at bertelking.com.
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